Pierson immigrants have leader on their side

Monday

Apr 12, 2010 at 12:01 AMAug 15, 2012 at 12:00 PM

PIERSON -- Marcos Crisanto was a teacher in Mexico before coming to the United States to work in fields and factories.

But he has made his way back to teaching. Not in a classroom before fresh-faced elementary, junior or senior high school kids, but rather in an office in Pierson before the often weary and tired faces of migrant farm workers.

Crisanto has been coordinator of the Farmworker Association of Florida's office in Pierson for six years. He wants to make sure the area's many Mexican immigrants know he and the association will battle so they can have a better life.

"They can see that this organization fights for workers' rights," Crisanto said in a recent interview, "to give them power so they can represent themselves." Although Marcos has had difficulty filling the shoes of well-known campesino leader Alfredo Bahena, who died in a traffic accident six years ago, he has had success in getting community leaders to work with the agency's office in Pierson, said the association's state coordinator, Tirso Moreno.

"He still has some improvements to make but he has advanced and kept the issues affecting campesinos a priority," Moreno said.

During the week, Crisanto spends much of his time in the Pierson office, helping Mexican immigrants get answers to a variety of questions. The topic could be immigration, employment, health or any other number of things.

Crisanto, in casual dress and sneakers, pads around the office. One moment he will be sitting behind his desk, helping someone fill out a government document. The U.S. Census is a big push lately. Another moment he will be snapping a photo of someone to include in some paperwork. In between, he fields phone calls.

"More than anything else I like to help people," Crisanto said. "I like to work with people. You have to want to work a lot without earning a lot of money."

Crisanto can relate to the struggles of many of the Mexican immigrants who toil in the fern fields. The 52-year-old came to the United States in 1986 from Guerrero state in Mexico because his wife, Claudia, wanted to be near her brothers. The Crisantos have settled in DeLand.

Crisanto has cut fern and picked oranges. He has worked on air-conditioning units in one factory and assembled cabinetry in another.

Crisanto said one of the challenges of moving to the United States was becoming knowledgeable about the language, laws and customs of his new home. He and his wife and three daughters and one son have added dollops of Mexican flavor to the American melting pot, figuratively and literally. They celebrate Thanksgiving, for example, with servings of enchiladas, tortillas and tacos.

Six years ago, Crisanto became coordinator of the Farmworker Association of Florida, Inc.'s Pierson office. He took the paid job after Bahena's death. Crisanto had already been volunteering with the office.

"There was no one else," Crisanto said. "I was already here."

Crisanto, who just learning under Bahena's leadership, was left with a big task, said Ana Bolaņos, president of the Seville women's group, Alianza de Muejres activas(Alliance of Active Women).

"He was left with an enormous package when Alfredo (Bahena) died," Bolanos said. "He has done a lot to champion the cause of the campesino, sometimes even without the support of the association's central office (in Apopka)."

Crisanto said he counts a number of successes since becoming coordinator, including participating in a recent march for immigrant rights in Washington, D.C. The association also offers English language classes to immigrants. And it has formed a committee to help the rural Pierson community in the event of disaster, such as a hurricane.

"It's a battle sometimes to get these programs in place but they are functioning, " Moreno said.

The association has also arranged for Mexican teachers to visit so children will learn the customs of Mexico.

Like many in this tough economy, Crisanto's office and the migrant workers it serves are facing lean times. But Crisanto is pressing ahead. In his office hangs a poster of Cesar Chavez, a famous labor leader and farm worker organizer.

Crisanto said he wants to organize workers to give a greater voice. It's a great challenge, he said.

"Little by little, you start," he said.

It's a task Crisanto can accomplish because he understands the plight of the filed worker, Bolaņos said.

"As he strives to ensure the rights of the field workers are protected, he influences them to have a better life," Bolaņos said.

-- Staff Writer Patricio G. Balona contributed to this report.

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